BRITAIN'S very elderly are not frightened of death and live "day by day", according to a Cambridge University study of attitudes towards dying among those aged 95-plus.

The number of Britons in their 10th decade at the time of their death has tripled in the last 30 years as improvements in environment and lifestyles, as well as significant medical advances, mean more people are living longer.

Doctor Jane Fleming, who led the research, said: "Despite the dramatic rise in the number of people living into very old age, there is far too little discussion about what the 'oldest old' feel about the end of their lives.

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"We know very little, too, about the difficult decisions concerning their end of life care."

Researchers interviewed 33 people aged over 95 about their attitude towards death, dying and end-of-life care for the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Dr Fleming said the responses were at times poignant and occasionally humorous, but provide a "fascinating perspective" on the views of an "often overlooked" minority.

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Britain's elderly are shown to be taking day by day according to new research

She said the age of the older people was so great that most of their contemporaries had died, so death was a regular feature of life and many spoke of living on borrowed time.

"As people get older, as their friends die, there's an element of ticking them off," said one.

Many of the older people referred to "taking each day as it comes", expressing thankfulness for where they were in life and content, at this stage, to take life one day at a time, not worrying too much about tomorrow.

There was a sense of life ticking along until something drastic happened. "It is only day-to-day when you get to 97," said one.

One son-in-law described his elderly mother-in-law giving a long-life light bulb to her granddaughter, saying: "Something for you, it's not worth me having."

Some of those interviewed felt they were a "nuisance" to others, while others were more desperate in their desire to reach the end, suggesting they had simply lived too long.

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The number of Brits living into their 10th year has tripled in the last 30 years

Most were not afraid of dying and discussion of funeral preferences was more common than talking about death.

The manner of death was of more concern than its imminence. Many explicitly expressed the wish to die peacefully, pain free and preferably while asleep - to "just slip away quietly."

Dr Morag Farquhar, the study's other lead author, added: "Now so many more people have reached a great age before they die, it's important we know about their views and their concerns, particularly in relation to end-of-life care.

"These are difficult conversations to have and no one wants to have to face their own death or that of a loved one. But having these conversations before it is too late can help ensure that an individual's wishes, rather than going unspoken, can be heard."